ginko
-
Posts
226 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Events
Fishing Tips, Advice and Articles
Blogs
Store
Posts posted by ginko
-
-
I hit Dee Why first up this morning, not long after low tide. Dee Why was showing good holes on the surf-cams, but when I got there, I couldn't find any holes close enough to shore to get my bait into. (that said, if I'd been going for whiting, there were a few promising small holes in close, with the current running parallel to the beach).
So I headed over to Curl Curl and found a nice rip coming off the beach into a deep hole. Just before dawn, on the first cast, I landed a flattie. Right after sunrise, I caught one tailor and dropped two other fish which I'd guess were tailor. As the tide came in, the fish went off the bite. I noticed that the rip seemed to have moved up the beach, and was now running out over a bit of a washy sandbar. I moved over and cast into the wash at the center of the rip, and sure enough, there was a bream. Dinner served!
Each fish was on the smallish side: 36 cm for the sand flathead, 33 cm for the tailor and 28 cm for the bream. All were caught on three #3 ganged hooks and whole pillies with a 20lb trace in case of larger tailor and a star sinker.
-
I was out at Dee Why on Friday morning - not really any gutter to speak of, just 100m of gently sloping-away beach. I eventually got a good bream right up at the very north end where there was finally a bit of a hole. It took a live mullet on size 8 hooks.
Today, I went by Dee Why and Curl Curl at low tide to see any developing holes in the big surf - Dee Why was still looking pretty flat, although a decent hole directly infront of the surf club at the south end. The mullet are making a run out of the lagoon at high tide at night, but still, no holes there to hold them.
Curl Curl was looking like more potential: today there was massive surf rolling in and churning up the sand. Long holes leading directly into the beach seem to be forming there.
When the wind calms down, it should be a decent bit of fishing off most south-facing beaches.
BB
-
I was out againg this morning - Curl Curl this time, a fair sweep of current going right to left, (northeast) up the beach.
Ok gutters, but I was there at low tide, so not really deep enough I guess.
I fished freshly caught (dead) squid and cuttlefish before dawn, both were eventually bitten off.
As the sun came up I switched to a single # 3 hook and half pillies again - but no luck. There seemed to be a load of crabs: the line would suddenly pull in the current, and the tension would stay on until I got the hook about 1/2 way back to the beach, when it seemed the crabs were letting go. The pillies were coming back more or less chopped in half (often lengthways as opposed to the back half getting chopped off). There was no kelp at all either on the beach (it's cleaned off by the council) or in the water.
BB
-
Brian,
do you find the braid wears out quickly? The advice I generally heard is that braid and beach don't mix as the sand cuts little nicks out of the braid, and then when you have a big one on, the braid snaps. I've spent my money on better bait, rather than on braid, but I've also found it hard to feel the fish biting in any sort of a swell.
I agree, from the few times I've used braid at the beach, that it gives much better feel for whiting.
BB
-
I was using a pretty heavy set-up in case of tailor.
7144 rod (~12 foot)
20lb line to a swivel - then about 40 cm of 60lb trace - then a snap swivel - and a star sinker. Running along the trace, I had a free-running swivel - with ~40 cm of 60 lb trace to #3 hook.
The half-pillie held on the hook with some of that very light nylon thread.
Earlier, I had been bitten off the same kind of set-up with 20lb trace, probably a tailor or small shark.
There was a fair swell, so I think the pillie was moving around ok in spite of the heavy trace.
I like having the sinker on a snap swivel - it makes it much easier to change weights and also to un-clip it altogether when walking to/from fishing spot.
-
thanks ABCFisho!
I was up on the northern beaches, and tried your rig. Hey Presto. 3 Bream in the bag. 33, 38, 39cm. Caught with half pillies (good ones!),# 3 hooks, and star sinkers.
-
I've been down to dee why at high tide twice: once at night and once in the morning a week later.
the night session yielded 4 good-sized shark hook-ups on yakkas, evidently all bronze whalers.
the morning session yielded a shovel nose shark in the dark, and after sunrise, my pillies were getting nipped off by chopper tailor. I managed to land 3 keepers (great for dinner) and one undersized tailor. In contrast to most fish, the tailors had to be hit fast- they were so small that a bite of the pillie and they were happy...
both sessions would have been worth it even if I wasn't wetting a line. the beach is gorgeous - the water's warm, winds are generally calm, and the skies are clear, loads of dolphins, and oddly, there are still very few people about early and late.
-
Hi,
Do you know if the shovel-nosed sharks/rays have a sting or spine in their tail? I've been catching a fair number at the beach, and then using sticks to put them back in. I notice your dad is just holding it pretty casually, there, so I wonder if they're ok to handle normally.
Are they any good to eat?
-
I've had a bit of luck off the Northern Beaches, better at falling/low tide on days with a bit of surf - but the tailor seem to be outside of the biggest breakers, so I've had to wade in and cast the bait wayyy out to get to the fish, and even then I've let the rip pull the bait out deeper. Best success has been just before sunrise, with ganged pillies on a pater noster rig, and fishing right up at corners or if the rip isn't in the corner, then the first rip up the beach from the corner.
There've been heaps of kelp in the water too, which can be a real pain off the beaches.
Tailor have been in the 40-50cm range.
-
I was out Sunday at Barrenjoey (northern side of the headland) - and tried at first with live yakkas. I had no luck at all, and there were guys pulling kings out all around me. This inspite of huge shoals of yakkas hitting the surface all around me as schools of kingies passed underneath my boat. I asked one guy who went past with another fresh monster flailing on the floor of his boat "What bait?" He was using squid strips. I didn't have any, so I switched to some decent quality pillies that were more the size of the squid strips. I immediately started getting hookups, but found out that 40lb line and 60 lb leader is not enough for kings when the water is relatively shallow and has a craggy rocky bottom. I lost a few fish and a few rigs in short order.
The other thing I noticed: the guys with the downriggers were outfishing everyone else by a fair margin... either this means that downriggers work, or that the guys that know how to land the most kings and happen to use downriggers.
-
what's that creature at the end (on the snorkel cam)? I looks like a water dragon earning its name...
-
I meant to say also: I saw a big sea turtle just north of little Jerusalem bay today. It was just playing around at the surface - very cool to see.
3 weeks ago, I also in Pittwater near Pugnose Point.
Anyone else spotting sea turtles?
Lots of little penguins at Spit Bridge too at the change of tide.
-
Yeah - it was a very very clean cut straight through, so it looks like tailor.
In winter, I've got some decent sized tailor (45cm) near Smiths Creek at a similar kind of spot (deep water, current line, point with a big ridge jutting into the deep water). But in summer it's been mostly choppers in the estuary and the big tailor seem to be coming off the outside beaches for me.
But that was a fair sized yakka (the hook is a #8) cut cleanly, so I'm guessing today it was a decent sized tailor cruising up the estuary.
-
Fished today near Jerusalem Bay. The water was very warm, clear, and filled with yakkas. A pretty good current from the run-out tide. Similar conditions a few weeks ago yielded a 46cm Jewie.
I got there early and sent out two live yakkas: one up near the surface, and one about 5m deep where the finder was showing some activity.
In spite of a fair bit of burley, I only picked up two under-sized tailors and one under-sized snapper.
The five-meter deep livie did get smashed... just a touch short of the hook
. Next time, I'll have the stinger deployed on both livies. -
what were you using for burley?
-
The brekkie trip to the beach on Friday morning was pretty wooly. Cold grey morning, 25 knot wind howling from the south east, very choppy waves, but a decent rip coming off the corner of the beach.
So maybe I should have kept that nice flattie, this tailor was all I managed in a 2.5 hour session (apart from a kelp fish). The wind was so strong that it made feeling the hits very difficult and I ended up feeding loads of pillies to whatever was out there biting. Any suggestions for high-wind beach fishing?
And AdjustedPete you're right - often, the ten-minute-fish takes a half-hour or more.
-
Raiders,
I stopped in at the Spit today for a 10 minute fish on the way home. I parked on the south side of the Spit bridge, west side, just north of the marina.
My intention was to see if I could get a squid for bait for a session on the beach tomorrow morning, but I was running late.
I decided that I didn't have time to tie-on a squid jig. I had a whiting rig already set up on my rod: a very small ball sinker above a short red tube and a smallish long-shank hook on a short mono trace. Onto this whiting rig, I had jammed a soft plastic on the hook, a Matzuo "pink sparkley swirl-tail grub", and thus converted it to a flattie rig. I'd used this setup earlier in the week in some shallow water, and scored a beautiful 35 cm flattie with a bright blue and white tail.
So today I just cast this rig out again, concentrating first on the sandy-bottomed area in front of the boats moored at the northern-most set of berths.
I had 6lb braid on. It is very fine: it tangles easily and it cuts skin like a knife; but it casts very nicely even with very light rigs.
With the rig almost back to shore on the 3rd cast, I felt a lovely thump on the line, and then the line just peeled off the reel. The power of the pulling was enough to let me know I was into a solid fish, but as I worked it back up to the break wall, I could see that I had a heavier fish than the 6lb braid and too short trace would handle. I had no net and there is about 2 ft of breakwall above the waterline.
Thankfully, another fisho was at work just up the break wall, and he heard me hollering. He scampered down with his sizeable net and scooped up my 60cm flattie.
As I'm not much into eating fish out of the harbour, I offered the fish to him which he graciously accepted - I just hope he doesn't have any nasty effects of consuming it.
I had time for 2 more casts (for zilch) before heading home. Hopefully I'll get some brekkie off the beach in the morning.
-
Nippers are great bait, and fun to get with kids.
If you've got access to a boat, the south side of Hacking has great sandflats. You'll need a nipper pump($30), a fine net ($5-$10) and a bucket or empty 2litre milk container with half the top cut off (I put my belt through the handle, and have the milk container at my hip to put the nippers from the net into). Position the pump over the round nipper holes, and suck up the sand from the same spot 2 or 3 times, and shoot it out into the fine net. You'll see the nippers in the net. Beware the nippers' claws - they do nip - it might be an idea to rip off the claw before you put them into the bucket/milk container. Also, "jennies" in roe (bright orange eggs on the underside) should go back to keep the supply going for the next season.
Feed the nippers onto a long-shank size 4 to size 6 hook. It helps if you insert the hook just in front of the tail of the nipper, under a little hoop there, and feed the nipper around the hook and bring the tip of the hook out near the head of the nipper. Sometimes a half-hitch around the tail is needed to keep the nipper well presented on the hook.
Fish these unweighted or with a light sinker on light line, and a slow retrieve or a drift. You'll pick up bream, and get whiting and flathead if you get the nipper down to sandy bottoms, especially at the edges of the weedbeds in a bit of light current. The shallow water with nippers in the sand will hold heaps of juvenile whiting, so if you're interested in catching (but not eating), then the sandflats can be a good option for kids. A rising tide is best in the shallows.
The nippers will get bitten off by pickers fairly frequently, so maybe teach the kids how to put the new nippers on by themselves, or your day might be spent putting nippers on hooks and not fishing.
The kids will probably appreciate if they can access food, drink, hats, suncream, etc.
-
I've just got in from catching a fairly big green eye squid (30cm mantle) from dirty water where I wouldn't eat any catch... so it will be used as bait this weekend.
I've frozen it in good quality plastic, so the squid should still be in pretty good shape on Sunday.
What's the best combo of hook(s) and "cut" of squid? I'll be targetting kingies (and reading the above, it looks like I need heavier line than my 30lb mainline!)
How big a piece of squid should go on the hook(s)? Should I leave the skin on, or take it off? I'll be in Pittwater, so we're talking 15-20m max depth.
Out of interest, any advice on handlining for kings? I usually have a handline down for smaller fish when targetting smaller fish, but if I'm targetting kings, I wonder if I should have a "king-proof" handline down too. (I do have gloves!)
One more question: to troll or to anchor and burley? Previously fishing for kings, they seemed to be expert at finding anything that would cut the line, so my guess is that anchoring will be tough. Either way, how deep should the bait be?
Anxious!
-
I was at Bent's Basin on the weekend and saw a few right below where the rapids enter the basin.
-
If fishing from a boat in slightly deeper water (e.g. at the pillboxes on west head in Pittwater), I prefer to use a small kid's rod and light line. The kids' rod is light enough to feel the nibbles and not rip out hooks, but avoids meters of light line getting tangled around everything in the tinnie each time I pull one (or two) up. You just have to wind in quickly!
Fish outta water and narrabeen bait and tackle both have good quality kids rods for about $20 that have lasted me 2 years so far.
The same rods are also good for squid, so I try to have a squid jig ready in case I get any showing up in the burley.
Also, I prefer no-name wheat bix as burley - it works well and is really easy to store and carry in the tinnie. For yakkas etc, you've got to crush it up well, otherwise the bits are too big.
-
The dolphins headed out of Pittwater towards Lion Island, and passed me at Barrenjoey at about 9am today (so going out with the tide).
In spite of a 20knot wind, it was the sound of their breathing that first made me notice them. They passed about 25m from my tinnie, a pod of about 5-6 dolphins.
V cool.
-
Good to know others have been caught by these guys. I had a beautiful one for bait this morning, and it gave my thumb one hell of a bite when I tried to put it on the hook.
Do they have some kind of venom? My thumb still feels all tingly, about 8 hours after the nip.
Just to make things worse, I lost the cuttle when it bit me, so had to resort to mullet strips. One really got smashed - but on a rod with only 8lb line. After a really long fight (I was thinking jewfish) up came a 1 meter+ port jackson.
I think the cuttle had the last laugh.
-
I was up Cowan system on Sunday for just one tailor in spite of a huge effort at burleying.
There were loads of baby snapper in the deeper sections, and small clear baitfish at the edges of sand flats, but no fish biting nor any showing on the sounder. No yakkas at my regular spot either.
There'd been a heavy rainfall earlier in the week, and maybe the bigger fish followed it down the system, and stayed around the mouth with the big swells washing food off the rocks and beaches. Did anyone fish Broken Bay on the weekend?
. Next time, I'll have the stinger deployed on both livies.
Dee Why
in Fishing Reports
Posted · Edited by ginko
The "Red Pole" is right in the middle of Dee Why beach, halfway between north and south. Right now, I'd come at it from the south, as to get there from the north you have to pass between the lagoon and the sea - and recently the lagoon has been open and with the current huge surf and high tides near dawn, I'd be more comfortable getting to the pole at night on the higher dryer sand. The gutter is usually directly infront of the pole. Often, water on the south side of the pole flows northwards and water north of the pole flows southwards, the currents meet at the pole and go out to sea, creating the rip and gutter that hold the fish.
That said, the beach at Dee Why is looking pretty flat at the moment so the surf is breaking way out from the beach and just rolling all the way into the beach - check out coastalwatch.com.au, pick NSW beaches, and take your pick of the beach surf cams. You may find a beach with gutters close enough to shore that you can cast your bait into them. (Note that the Dee Why cam is at the south end of the beach, so the Red Pole is just about out of its range). Also, Dee Why can get pretty kelpy - especially in high surf.
Apparently, there is a rather large chunk of burley washed up on Newport beach - all day friday and saturday, there will be people there carving up the carcass of a sperm whale and apparently alot of blood and oil is draining into the sea.